Air Travel and associated costs
Recently I read an article saying that US Airways now charges $2 for a bottle of water on the flight. What I find really annoying is that you are being charged for every little thing or rather they are itemizing your charges.
At first it was charge for second checked baggage. Now you have to pay for even the first checked bag. Since the price is for 50 lbs, you need to be extra careful as it is really dependent on the mood of the person who weighs your bags. If you are a couple of pounds over, you could be asked to fork over more money.
I also heard from friend that another airline charges you $4 for a blanket. Though some people are joking that tickets will be priced per pound of weight (not the bags but the passengers)!
Why don’t they just raise the ticket prices and have the customer pay just a single amount. This will really allow customers to see the costs upfront and they will decide whether to go on that trip or not. I guess that will be bad for airlines as most people will get a sticker shock and decide to choose alternate modes of travel unless it is a must.
I guess airlines really need to reexamine the workings of their business and figure out how to be in business. After 2001, the 911 excuses could be used for ever. Now we have the rising fuel costs, I wonder what excuse will be use to account for the bleeding bottom line.